Police target criminal gangs in raids on the Wirral

A Home Office-designed project to tackle organised crime groups has been rolled out on the Wirral.

The Clear, Hold, Build project sees Merseyside Police working with partners and residents in the Woodchurch, Noctorum and Beechwood estates to disrupt and deter organised crime group (OCG) activity and help stop neighbourhoods being exploited by gangs.

Police carried out raids on five addresses in Woodchurch and Birkenhead Credit: Merseyside Police

Police held a day of action with officers from environmental health, pest control, waste management and housing working alongside firefighters and community groups to provided health and safety advice as well as taking action to improve the look of the area with clear-up initiatives, waste and graffiti removal.

Merseyside Police was one of the first forces to pilot Clear, Hold, Build with Beechwood Together on the Beechwood estate in 2022.

In January 2023, the Home Office announced a national roll-out of its Clear, Hold, Build strategy to help reclaim and rebuild areas at risk of significant harm from criminal gangs.

Clear, Hold, Build projects were launched in Liverpool and Knowsley last August after the murders of nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel, 22-year-old Sam Rimmer and 28-year-old Ashley Dale, and in Netherton last month on the Park Lane estate.

As part of the work the force is carrying out to clear gang activity on the Woodchurch, Noctorum and Beechwood estates on the Wirral, officers have made 379 arrests, 740 stop searches and executed 90 warrants and searches between January and April. Seizures from that period include cannabis plants with an estimated yield of £1.3million, a large quantity of suspected Class A and B drugs, £25,000 worth of goods from targeted retailers linked to OCGs, more than £13,000 in cash suspected to be derived through criminal activity, two machetes, three samurai swords and a Rolex watch worth around £10,000.

The Hold phase, which began alongside the operation to clear the area of gang-related activity, aims to help disrupt and minimise serious and organised crime with a targeted increase of officers to provide community reassurance and gather intelligence.

Children from Woodchurch C of E primary School joined PCSOs in planting vegetables Credit: Merseyside Police

Assistant Chief Constable Jon Roy said: “Serious and organised crime devastates lives and poses a significant threat to our communities. This is the third Evolve project we have deployed in Merseyside to help tackle organised crime groups and the misery they bring.

“The approach sees police working more closely with partners to root out and prosecute not only those involved in serious and organised crime but also their enablers and facilitators who support and profit from this criminality.

Police joined with partners from Wirral council, Merseyside Fire and Rescue and housing associations for a day of action Credit: ITV

Merseyside’s Police Commissioner Emily Spurrell said: “I am absolutely committed to supporting Merseyside Police in their relentless approach to disrupting the corrosive organised crime groups who seek to inflict such misery."